


there in a flash

by renecdote



Category: DCU
Genre: Caretaking, Cuddling, Dick needs a hug, Fluff, Injury, M/M, this is just pure sap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 05:39:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15308658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renecdote/pseuds/renecdote
Summary: Dick gets hurt on patrol. It’s a good thing he has Wally to help take care of him afterwards.





	there in a flash

**Author's Note:**

> I had a sudden need to write birdflash so uhhh have this short little thing.

Dick kicks off his boots then begins peeling the Nightwing uniform off carefully. Usually he’d start with the top, but tonight his shoulder is on fire, bruises purpling his skin around the recently dislocated joint. He’d managed to pop it back in himself but there’d been no point continuing to patrol after that. He could work through an injury if necessary, but he wasn’t stupid enough to put unnecessary strain on his shoulder swinging around Bludhaven when it was a quiet night. So he’d made Alfred proud and come home to get an early night for once.

The pants come off slowly and get kicked under the bed with the boots. Dick only manages to get the top half partway up his chest before sharp pain stops him. He gasps involuntarily and drops the material. “Fuck,” he mutters, squeezing his eyes shut. He’s not going to be able to do this himself without cutting the material.

Dick’s mobile is charging on his nightstand and he crawls across the bed to reach it, giving up halfway and stretching out the fingers of his good arm to pull it closer. He works the screen one-handed, pulling up his contacts and tapping to dial.

“ _Hey, handsome,_ ” a cheerful voice greets.

“Wally,” Dick sighs, not quite a whine because he’s tired and in pain but he’s not pathetic, “I need help.”

Wally is in his bedroom seconds later and Dick rolls over to smile at him. “Hey, handsome,” he says.

Wally grins, crawling onto the bed, arms bracketing Dick as he leans down to kiss him. “You needed help?” he asks, amusement in his voice. 

“Mmm.” Dick leans up for another kiss.“I’m stuck.”

Wally sits back, obviously not expecting that. “What?”

Dick winces. He tugs at the hem of his uniform. “I hurt my shoulder and I can’t get my top off.”

There’s a blur of motion and then Wally is sitting beside Dick with the medical kit from Dick’s bathroom open on the bed beside him. “You’re hurt?” he asks, helping Dick sit up.

“Wrenched my shoulder earlier,” Dick says. He rotates it experimentally and, yep, still hurts like the dickens.

Wally’s fingers are warm against his stomach, skimming around to his sides and gently pulling up the top. Dick squirms when it tickles, huffing when Wally just smiles innocently at him. Dick bends forwards so he doesn’t have to lift his arms too high for Wally to get the top over his head. He hears Wally hiss and realises why a moment later. His shoulder is an ugly mess of purple and black, swollen and tender.

“Ow,” Wally says sympathetically.

“It’s not that bad,” Dick dismisses. He’s had much worse. He finds an instant ice pack in the medical kit though and snaps it to activate the cooling gel. Wally takes it and holds it against his shoulder. 

“You want to take anything?”

Dick shakes his head. He closes his eyes, relaxing as the ice pack numbs his shoulder. Wally pokes him in the side and he swats at his boyfriend.

“Don’t you want to put clothes on?” Wally asks. “Or lie down before you fall asleep?”

Dick flops backwards. It leaves him lying diagonally across the bed with his head half-off a pillow. He can’t see it, but he knows Wally rolls his eyes. There’s a displacement of air and then the mattress bounces slightly with Wally’s return. The blankets start moving under Dick and he lifts his weight enough that they can be pulled out and thrown on top of him instead.

Dick waits and when no speedster flops down beside him, elbows digging into Dick’s stomach and hair tickling his jaw, he cracks open his eyes. Wally is standing beside the bed, staring down with such a fond look on his face that Dick smiles back reflexively.

“Hey,” he says.

Wally shakes his head, that fond look never leaving his face. “Hey,” he replies, voice warm.

Dick wriggles a hand free from the blankets and reaches out for his boyfriend. “You joining me?”

“Hmm, I don’t know, are you going to hog all the blankets?” Wally teases.

“I might if you’re going to be like that,” Dick mutters. He rolls onto his side to hide his smile in the pillow, careful not to jostle his shoulder too much. He lifts his hand to readjust the ice pack slipping down his back. The mattress dips behind him and Wally’s hand slips around his waist. Legs tangle with Dick’s own.

“Comfortable?” Wally asks, words vibrating against Dick’s back.

“Mm. Yeah.”

Dick is warm with Wally cuddling him, except the chill seeping into his numb shoulder. This isn’t how he expected the evening to turn out. After a rusted fire escape gave way beneath him, there’d been a split second of heart-stopping fear that there wouldn’t be any more of the evening. He’d managed to catch himself though, wrenching his shoulder out of its socket and bruising his back slamming into the building’s brick wall. The only thing he expected from the evening after that was a lonely night in with some painkillers. Dick’s not complaining about what his bad luck led to though, it’s far better than being a Nightwing pancake, or going to bed in his sweaty top because he couldn’t get it off.

“I hope I didn’t take you away from anything important,” Dick says. 

“Nothing is more important than spending time with you,” Wally replies, kissing behind Dick’s ear.

Dick shivers. “Sap.”

“Takes one to know one.”

Dick turns his head so he can press his lips against Wally’s. Wally levers himself onto his elbow for a better angle and deepens the kiss. Warmth trickles through Dick’s body and he pushes up, fingers digging into his boyfriend’s back.

Pain lances through his shoulder and he gasps. Wally pulls away. “Dick?”

“I’m fine,” Dick says. He tries to smile but it falls flat.

Wally shakes his head. “You’re not fine.”

Dick sighs. “Stupid shoulder.”

He hasn’t spent any significant time with Wally for over two weeks. They’ve both been busy with lives in separate parts of the country, day jobs and hero jobs clashing with any free time one of them had. Dick has missed him. He’s missed him and now that they have a chance to spend some time together a stupid injury is getting in the way. Tears prickle at Dick’s eyes and he tries to blink them away. He turns his head away when they spill over. 

“Woah, woah,” Wally brushes the tears away. “Hey, it’s okay. Does it hurt that much? I knew you should’ve taken-“

“No,” Dick says. He grips Wally’s wrist to stop him moving further away. “No, it’s not the pain. It’s not that bad.”

Wally’s face is pinched with concern. He turns his arm so he can tangle their fingers together. “What’s wrong, babe?” he asks.

Dick squeezes his eyes shut. “It’s nothing. I’m just... I’m just tired and it’s stupid.”

“Hey, no. If something upsets you it’s not stupid.”

Dick opens his eyes. Wally’s face is blurry through the tears, but it’s there, leaning over Dick, waiting for some way to make him feel better.

“I’ve missed you,” Dick admits.

Wally’s face softens. “I’ve missed you too,” he says.

Dick tugs on their intertwined hands. “Can we just cuddle?”

Wally kisses Dick’s nose then lies back down behind him, his embrace pulling Dick close until there’s no space between them. “Of course. Anything you need.”

**Author's Note:**

> I like to think Dick and Wally started using the "handsome" endearment as a joke and then at some point it just became their thing. 
> 
> Anywayyy if you liked it comments and kudos are great :) You can also find me on tumblr [here](http://tantalum-cobalt.tumblr.com).


End file.
